Why You Can Trust CNET Get a GoGroove Bluetooth sound bar for $69.99
From the Cheapskate: Way better than it should be at this price, the BlueSync SBR works equally well with your TV and your phone or tablet.
CNET's Cheapskate scours the Web for great deals on PCs, phones, gadgets and much more. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Find the answers on our FAQ page.
Hi, cheeps! Just a reminder that I'm on vacation this week (hence no bonus deals, which are harder to cook up in advance). Although I've served up tasty deals all week, there won't be one tomorrow. But fear not: I'll be back in the saddle Friday!
This is actually a rerun of a deal that first appeared back in May. Since then I've had some time to really get to know the product -- and managed to get the vendor to knock off another $5!
As you know, I have very strong feelings about TV speakers -- by which I mean they're terrible. If you're going to watch TV, you need a sound bar. Without one, you might as well just stuff cotton in your ears and be done with it.
OK, but do you have to break the bank to get a decent one? Nuh-uh: For a limited time, and while supplies last, 2nd Street Electronics has the Gogroove BlueSync SBR Bluetooth sound bar for $69.99 shipped. That's $30 off the regular price and $5 less than last time I wrote about it.
Since then, I've tested the speaker in a variety of environments with a variety of sources (TV, phone, tablet, etc.). To my continuing surprise and delight, the SBR sounds good. Like, surprisingly good. This despite it being a bit narrower (about 31 inches) than the average sound bar and feeling like it's made of balsa wood. (The speaker weighs just 3.75 pounds.)
I first paired it with my TV (the SBR has both RCA and optical inputs), then with my phone. Then it was just a matter of toggling between the two sources via the clearly labeled membrane remote.
That remote includes not only volume and treble/bass controls, but also three preset modes (Music, Movie and Voice) and play/pause and skip buttons for controlling music. I especially appreciated the clearly labeled buttons on the side of the speaker itself, which come in very handy one time when the remote went missing.
I'm no audiophile, but to my ears the SBR sounded splendid. (I tended to prefer the nicely balanced Music mode for all listening, including TV.) I actually put it right in front of the much more expensive under-cabinet speaker that normally provides my TV audio, and honestly couldn't tell any difference.
Then I streamed my favorite Pandora stations (mostly of the indie/adult-alternative flavor) and found the music warm and resonant. So much so, in fact, that I started thinking of the SBR as less of a sound bar and more of a Bluetooth speaker, one that can be conveniently wall-mounted.
However you use it, I think you'll like the BlueSync SBR. Accessory Power's three-year warranty is the icing on the cake. That said, I do have two complaints. First, it comes without any audio cables, even RCA. Second, it has no option for pairing with a subwoofer. Assuming you can live with that, go forth and listen.